Wells entirely embodies her protagonist ..at no point does she shy away from any aspect of Danna's story, including the pitch dark humour of a survivor. Her mesmerising performance combines flawlessly with carefully considered staging and lighting...and Wells cleverly, painstakingly depicts the sheer, exhausting labour of healing. A real miracle...Heroine will far outlast anything that a mere soundbite could hope to convey. A play that impacts its audience whilst dramatising sensitive subject matter with the utmost respect. Powerful, visceral theatre that is not easily forgotten.
The Fountain ****
Current News
2021
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) today (April 29th 2021) announced that they will offer the bipartisan Military Justice Improvement Act as an amendment to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act. The Military Justice Improvement Act would professionalize how the military prosecutes serious crimes by moving the decision over whether to prosecute them to independent, trained, professional military prosecutors. More here.
2020
Fort Hood data here
Vanessa Guillen Article 1 here
Vanessa Guillen Article 2 here
Vanessa Gillen article 3 here
2019
Info on Marines United Scandal here
Info on the Catch (Catch a serial offender) programme here
For all the survivors and those adding their voices to the moving outpouring during #METOO, here is a piece that focuses on the military female perspective. #metoomilitary
April 2018 was Sexual Assault awareness month, interesting blog here
Great article from Human Rights Watch here
"The truth is that the scourge of sexual assault in the military remains status quo," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, said about the 2017 Pentagon report. "(It) disappointingly shows a flat overall reporting rate and a retaliation rate against survivors that remains at an unacceptable 6 out of 10 for a third year in a row."
Download the latest DOD annual report of Sexual Assault in the military here.
Download Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's report on that report here.
From the latest annual Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) Report, FY2016
The carefully crafted Military Justice Improvement Act is designed to professionalize how the military prosecutes serious crimes like sexual assault, and to remove the systemic fear that survivors of military sexual assault describe in deciding whether to report the crimes committed against them. Repeated testimony from survivors and former commanders says that the widespread reluctance on the part of survivors to come forward and report is due to the bias and inherent conflicts of interest posed by the military chain of command’s sole decision-making power over whether cases move forward to a trial.
HISTORICALLY
In 2014, there was a huge step forward. Obama signed a defense bill to combat sexual assault in the military, which was fantastic news. Anyone who engages in sexual assault will now face dishonourable discharge. Commanders are prevented from reversing jury decisions, legal assistance will be provided for victims, and “retaliation” against a victim will be punished. The Military Justice Improvement Act, spearheaded by Senator Gillibrand is the next step, which was filibustered in the spring of 2014 and is still on the slate. This is designed to take power out of the military courts and into the hands of those who are properly trained and legally equipped to deal with gender and sex-based crimes. In October, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted to adopt three military sexual assault reform provisions proposed by Protect Our Defenders (POD).
The reforms include limiting the “Good Military Character” defense so that an accused rapist can no longer be found "not guilty" simply for being a good soldier; guaranteeing victims the right to appeal adverse rulings regarding the psychotherapist-patient privilege and rape shield rules, which shield victims' past sexual history, and eliminating an exception to the psychotherapist-patient privilege rule, which military judges have routinely used as a loophole to justify turning over victims' confidential therapy records to their alleged rapists.
Institutional failure to protect troops who report MST has led to a gross under-reporting of it across the armed forces. These recent reforms will encourage more brave men and women in uniform to come forward to pursue justice against their attackers.
MST often leads to long-term debilitating psychological conditions, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depression. Moreover, veterans who have experienced MST face overwhelming obstacles when applying for disability compensation from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Rejection by the VBA often leads to intense feelings of betrayal, triggering further trauma and illness among veterans with MST.
There is still a lot more to do.
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) today (April 29th 2021) announced that they will offer the bipartisan Military Justice Improvement Act as an amendment to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act. The Military Justice Improvement Act would professionalize how the military prosecutes serious crimes by moving the decision over whether to prosecute them to independent, trained, professional military prosecutors. More here.
2020
Fort Hood data here
Vanessa Guillen Article 1 here
Vanessa Guillen Article 2 here
Vanessa Gillen article 3 here
2019
Info on Marines United Scandal here
Info on the Catch (Catch a serial offender) programme here
For all the survivors and those adding their voices to the moving outpouring during #METOO, here is a piece that focuses on the military female perspective. #metoomilitary
April 2018 was Sexual Assault awareness month, interesting blog here
Great article from Human Rights Watch here
"The truth is that the scourge of sexual assault in the military remains status quo," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, said about the 2017 Pentagon report. "(It) disappointingly shows a flat overall reporting rate and a retaliation rate against survivors that remains at an unacceptable 6 out of 10 for a third year in a row."
Download the latest DOD annual report of Sexual Assault in the military here.
Download Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's report on that report here.
From the latest annual Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) Report, FY2016
- The Department of Defense estimated that there were nearly 15,000 sexual assaults against service members in fiscal year 2016
- 7 out of 10 service members did not report their assault in an “unrestricted” (actionable) manner to their chain of command, showing a severe lack of confidence in the current system
- Of those 30% who were brave enough to make an unrestricted report, approximately 60% of them told the Department of Defense that they had experienced some form of retaliation for reporting
- More than 70% of cases considered for court martial were never even referred to court martial proceedings
- Just 9% of cases ended in conviction
- Only 20% of survey respondents indicated that they were satisfied with official action(s) taken against their alleged perpetrator
- The odds of being sexually assaulted are approximately 16 times higher for active duty women and 50 times higher for active duty men who indicated experiencing sexual harassment than for their counterparts who did not
The carefully crafted Military Justice Improvement Act is designed to professionalize how the military prosecutes serious crimes like sexual assault, and to remove the systemic fear that survivors of military sexual assault describe in deciding whether to report the crimes committed against them. Repeated testimony from survivors and former commanders says that the widespread reluctance on the part of survivors to come forward and report is due to the bias and inherent conflicts of interest posed by the military chain of command’s sole decision-making power over whether cases move forward to a trial.
HISTORICALLY
In 2014, there was a huge step forward. Obama signed a defense bill to combat sexual assault in the military, which was fantastic news. Anyone who engages in sexual assault will now face dishonourable discharge. Commanders are prevented from reversing jury decisions, legal assistance will be provided for victims, and “retaliation” against a victim will be punished. The Military Justice Improvement Act, spearheaded by Senator Gillibrand is the next step, which was filibustered in the spring of 2014 and is still on the slate. This is designed to take power out of the military courts and into the hands of those who are properly trained and legally equipped to deal with gender and sex-based crimes. In October, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted to adopt three military sexual assault reform provisions proposed by Protect Our Defenders (POD).
The reforms include limiting the “Good Military Character” defense so that an accused rapist can no longer be found "not guilty" simply for being a good soldier; guaranteeing victims the right to appeal adverse rulings regarding the psychotherapist-patient privilege and rape shield rules, which shield victims' past sexual history, and eliminating an exception to the psychotherapist-patient privilege rule, which military judges have routinely used as a loophole to justify turning over victims' confidential therapy records to their alleged rapists.
Institutional failure to protect troops who report MST has led to a gross under-reporting of it across the armed forces. These recent reforms will encourage more brave men and women in uniform to come forward to pursue justice against their attackers.
MST often leads to long-term debilitating psychological conditions, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depression. Moreover, veterans who have experienced MST face overwhelming obstacles when applying for disability compensation from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Rejection by the VBA often leads to intense feelings of betrayal, triggering further trauma and illness among veterans with MST.
There is still a lot more to do.
